Listen to this Post
Introduction:
Microsoft Sentinel’s migration from the Azure portal to the Microsoft Defender portal represents a fundamental shift towards a consolidated, AI-driven security operations center. This move, with a retirement date of July 1, 2026, aims to unify incidents, threat intelligence, and advanced tools into a single pane of glass, forcing security teams to adapt their workflows and tooling.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the architectural implications of migrating SIEM operations to the Defender portal.
- Master the key KQL queries and PowerShell commands for assessing and migrating your Sentinel environment.
- Learn the new API endpoints and security hardening configurations for the unified platform.
You Should Know:
1. Assessing Your Current Sentinel Workspace
Before migration, a comprehensive audit of your existing Sentinel deployment is critical. This includes understanding your data ingestion volumes, active analytics rules, and custom logic.
Verified Commands & Snippets:
Azure CLI – Get Workspace Details:
az monitor log-analytics workspace show --resource-group YourResourceGroup --workspace-name YourSentinelWorkspace
Step-by-step guide: This command retrieves the core properties of your Log Analytics workspace, which underpins your Sentinel instance. Use it to verify the workspace ID, location, and SKU (pricing tier). This is the first step in inventorying your assets.
KQL – Data Ingestion Summary:
Usage | where TimeGenerated >= ago(30d) | summarize TotalGB = sum(Quantity) by DataType, Solution | render piechart
Step-by-step guide: Execute this query in your current Sentinel Logs blade. It provides a visual breakdown of your data ingestion by type and solution over the last 30 days. This is essential for cost forecasting and identifying data sources that may need optimization before the move.
PowerShell – List All Analytics Rules:
Get-AzSentinelAlertRule -ResourceGroupName "YourRG" -WorkspaceName "YourWorkspace"
Step-by-step guide: This PowerShell cmdlet (from the `Az.SecurityInsights` module) enumerates all active analytics rules in your Sentinel workspace. Export this list to a CSV to ensure no custom detection logic is lost during migration planning.
2. Navigating the New Defender Portal API Endpoints
The consolidation means API interactions will shift. Familiarity with the new REST API endpoints for managing incidents and entities within the Defender platform is crucial for automation.
Verified Commands & Snippets:
PowerShell – Get Incidents via New API:
$headers = @{Authorization = "Bearer $($token)" }
$uri = "https://api.securitycenter.microsoft.com/api/incidents"
$response = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $uri -Headers $headers -Method Get
$response.value | Format-Table id, title, status
Step-by-step guide: This script demonstrates how to authenticate and retrieve a list of security incidents from the new unified API endpoint. Replace `$token` with a valid OAuth2 token obtained for the `https://api.securitycenter.microsoft.com/.default` scope.
KQL – Hunting Query for Cross-Workspace Data:
union workspace('OldWorkspace').SecurityEvent, workspace('NewWorkspace').SecurityEvent
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(1h)
| where EventID == 4625 //Failed logon
Step-by-step guide: During a parallel run or migration period, you may need to query across the old and new workspaces. This KQL query unions security events from two different Log Analytics workspaces, allowing for continuous threat hunting without gaps.
3. Leveraging the Built-in Sentinel Data Lake
The integrated data lake offers scalable, cost-effective storage. Configuring it correctly is key to maximizing its value while controlling costs.
Verified Commands & Snippets:
Azure CLI – Configure Data Lake Storage:
az storage account create --name yourdatalake --resource-group YourRG --location eastus --sku Standard_LRS --kind StorageV2 --hierarchical-namespace true
Step-by-step guide: This command provisions an Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 account, which is the foundation for the new built-in data lake capability. The `–hierarchical-namespace true` parameter is essential for enabling the POSIX-like file system.
Bicep – Deploy Sentinel with Data Lake:
resource sentinel 'Microsoft.SecurityInsights/workspaces@2023-07-01-preview' = {
name: 'unified-sentinel-workspace'
location: resourceGroup().location
properties: {
source: 'Azure'
dataLakeConfig: {
state: 'Enabled'
storageAccountResourceId: storageAccount.id
}
}
}
Step-by-step guide: This Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) snippet, written in Bicep, defines a Sentinel workspace with the data lake integration enabled. This ensures your deployment is repeatable, version-controlled, and aligned with the new architecture from the start.
4. Integrating Defender Threat Intelligence (DTI)
The native integration of DTI provides real-time context on threat actors. Automating IOC ingestion enriches alerts and hunting queries.
Verified Commands & Snippets:
KQL – Hunt with Threat Intelligence:
ThreatIntelligenceIndicator | where ExpirationDateTime > now() | join kind=inner (DeviceNetworkEvents | where Timestamp > ago(7d)) on $left.IndicatorValue == $right.RemoteIP | project Timestamp, DeviceName, RemoteIP, IndicatorType, ThreatType
Step-by-step guide: This advanced KQL query performs a join between the `ThreatIntelligenceIndicator` table (populated by DTI) and network events. It identifies connections from known malicious IP addresses that are still considered active threats, enabling proactive blocking.
PowerShell – Add TI Indicator via API:
$body = @{
action = "Alert"
description = "Known C2 Server from DTI"
expirationDateTime = (Get-Date).AddDays(30).ToString("yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss.fffZ")
threatType = "Botnet"
value = "malicious-domain.com"
} | ConvertTo-Json
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.securitycenter.microsoft.com/api/tiindicators" -Headers $headers -Method Post -Body $body
Step-by-step guide: This script programmatically adds a custom threat intelligence indicator (in this case, a domain) directly into the Defender platform using the new API. The `action` parameter set to “Alert” ensures it will trigger a security incident if matched.
5. Hardening the Unified Cloud Identity
With a centralized platform, securing the identities used for access and automation becomes paramount. This involves implementing Conditional Access and Privileged Identity Management.
Verified Commands & Snippets:
PowerShell – Enable PIM for a Role:
$resource = Get-AzResource -Name "MySentinel" -ResourceGroupName "SecOps" $roleDefinition = Get-AzRoleDefinition -Name "Security Admin" New-AzRoleEligibilityScheduleRequest -ResourceId $resource.ResourceId -PrincipalId "user-guid" -RoleDefinitionId $roleDefinition.Id -RequestType "AdminAssign"
Step-by-step guide: This PowerShell script uses the `Az.Resources` module to assign a user as eligible for the “Security Admin” role on a specific Sentinel resource via Privileged Identity Management (PIM). This enforces Just-In-Time (JIT) access, a critical zero-trust principle.
Azure CLI – Create Conditional Access Policy (Preview):
az rest --method POST --uri "https://graph.microsoft.com/beta/identity/conditionalAccess/policies" --body @policy.json
Step-by-step guide: This command uses the `az rest` command to call the Microsoft Graph API and create a Conditional Access policy. The policy rules are defined in a separate `policy.json` file, which could mandate multi-factor authentication for any user accessing the Defender portal.
6. Automating Incident Response in the New Portal
The unified platform streamlines automation. Leveraging Logic Apps and the new security-centric connectors is key to building efficient playbooks.
Verified Commands & Snippets:
Logic App – HTTP Trigger (to New API):
"triggers": {
"When_a_HTTP_request_is_received": {
"inputs": {
"schema": {}
},
"kind": "Http",
"type": "Request"
}
}
Step-by-step guide: This JSON snippet from a Logic App definition shows an HTTP trigger. This can be configured to receive a webhook from the new Defender API when a high-severity incident is created, kicking off a custom orchestration workflow that isn’t covered by built-in templates.
PowerShell – Trigger Logic App from Alert:
$uri = "Your_Logic_App_HTTP_Trigger_URL"
$body = @{IncidentId=$incidentId; =$incidentTitle} | ConvertTo-Json
Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $uri -Method Post -Body $body -ContentType "application/json"
Step-by-step guide: This PowerShell command, which could be part of an Azure Automation runbook, sends a HTTP POST request to a Logic App. It passes incident details, demonstrating how to bridge custom automation scripts with the low-code Logic Apps platform for a hybrid response solution.
- Mitigating API Security Risks in the Consolidated Environment
A centralized system with rich APIs becomes a high-value target. Securing these APIs against unauthorized access and credential theft is non-negotiable.
Verified Commands & Snippets:
PowerShell – Create App Registration with Certificate:
$cert = New-SelfSignedCertificate -CertStoreLocation "cert:\CurrentUser\My" -Subject "CN=SentinelAutomation" -KeySpec KeyExchange Export-Certificate -Cert $cert -FilePath "C:\sentinel_automation_cert.cer"
Step-by-step guide: This script creates a new self-signed certificate and exports it. This certificate should then be uploaded to an Azure App Registration. Using certificate-based authentication for unattended scripts is far more secure than using client secrets for accessing the Defender and Sentinel APIs.
KQL – Detect Anomalous API Usage:
AuditLogs | where OperationName contains "microsoft.security" | where Result != "success" | summarize FailedAttempts = count() by OperationName, Identity, IPAddress | where FailedAttempts > 5
Step-by-step guide: Run this query in the new Defender portal to hunt for potential brute-force attacks or misconfigured automation against the security APIs. A high number of failed attempts from a single identity or IP address warrants immediate investigation.
What Undercode Say:
- The Surface is Consolidating, So is the Attack Surface. While a unified console improves efficiency, it also creates a single, high-value target for adversaries. A compromise of the primary SecOps identity or the unified API could grant unparalleled access to an organization’s entire security posture and data.
- AI is the Force Multiplier, Not a Silver Bullet. The AI-powered platform will handle the noise, but human expertise is what configures the AI and hunts for the novel threats it misses. The role of the security analyst is shifting from alert triage to threat hunter and automation engineer.
The migration is less about a UI change and more about a fundamental architectural pivot towards platformization. Security teams must proactively adapt their skills, automation, and security posture around this new centralized reality. Relying on legacy access models and manual processes will not be sustainable. The transition period is the critical window to build competency and harden the unified environment before the 2026 deadline.
Prediction:
The consolidation of Microsoft’s security tools into the Defender portal will set a new industry standard for integrated SecOps platforms, forcing competitors to accelerate their own unification roadmaps. In the short term, this will create a fertile ground for novel attack chains targeting the identity and access management layer of these consolidated systems. Adversaries will increasingly focus on compromising service principals, managed identities, and conditional access policies to gain persistent, high-level access within victim environments, making identity-centric security monitoring the new primary battleground.
🎯Let’s Practice For Free:
IT/Security Reporter URL:
Reported By: Activity 7381241817159077888 – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
